


A Drabble A Day

by lost_in_a_sea_of_fandoms



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Drabble Collection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hair Braiding, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, Insomnia, Irondad, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Peter is shook, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Thor (Marvel) Loves Pop-Tarts, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, Worried Happy Hogan, Worried Pepper Potts, Worried Peter Parker, soft tony stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-05-31 11:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19424737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_a_sea_of_fandoms/pseuds/lost_in_a_sea_of_fandoms
Summary: ...keeps the doctor away.Random short drabbles just to keep me writing...They'll be all MCU with lots of Irondad and fluff.Enjoy!





	1. Pop Tarts and (super)heroes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ssssssssssssssssssspiderboi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssssssssssssssssssspiderboi/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a box of Pop Tarts I saw in the grocery store today that had Spider-man on them. Enjoy!

Iron Man may have been Peter's favorite superhero from Earth (and his favorite father figure, but ever since the humans had discovered that Asgard was real and the Norse Gods walked the Earth, Peter had been enthralled. He had watched every documentary, every TV special and even the footage from every fight Thor had fought with the other Avengers. 

And so, when he had been invited to officially meet the Avenger's, he had been starstruck, obviously, but he couldn't help but be disappointed that his favorite god wasn't present. He was told that Thor visited rarely, as he was busy with the work on New Asgard.

On a sunny day in June, Peter sat in sleek, expensive car, on his way upstate, blissfully unaware of the fact that his entire world was about to change. 

It was a lab day, so Peter had been enjoying working with Mr. Stark for the past few hours, fully engrossed in his work. Unexpectedly, his stomach growled loudly and Mr. Stark spun to face him. 

"Go get yourself something to eat before you starve, kid."

Peter hurried up to the kitchen, crawling along the ceiling to save time. He raced around the final corner and...  
froze. A large hammer resting on the floor in the corner caught his eye first, before he noticed a tall man with long blond hair sitting at the counter. His back was towards Peter and maybe he'd be able to escape...

Nope. Parker luck. In his surprise, Peter had stopped holding on and he fell from the ceiling with a shriek.

Thor spun around, his hammer instantly in his hand as he prepared to meet the threat, which was a boy, hanging from the ceiling by one foot, looking resigned. 

Thor studied the boy for a moment before saying "You're the Spider-man from my Pop Tarts, aren't you?"  
a moment, then, "WHAT?"

Peter's shock at that moment was enough that he lost his hold and tumbled to the floor completely. 

It's safe to say that neither Mr. Stark nor Peter got much work done for the rest of the day. Peter spent the whole time hyperventilating over the fact that his face was on Pop Tarts and that Thor knew he was.

A post went viral on Tumblr that evening.  
FAN THEORY CONFIRMED: Thor eats Pop Tarts!


	2. In My Blood (separate work)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A song reveals secrets Peter's been keeping for far too long.

This got a little out of hand, so I posted it as a separate work. Hope you enjoy! Click on the link below!

<https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19439443>


	3. Inappropriate attire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets called out on his clothing by a very angry Tony Stark. The reason? Not what you'd expect.

Peter walked into the lab, haphazardly pulling off his oversized sweatshirt and throwing it onto the nearest chair. 

"Take it off." The words were sharp, almost angry as they rang out across the lab from where Tony was tinkering around his suit. 

When Peter stared at him, the man sighed and said "The shirt. Take it off or I'll kick you out."

Peter stared at his mentor for a second longer before dropping his gaze to his shirt. 

Oh. OH.

It all made sense now. Flash had somehow managed to spill paint all over Peter between classes and he had been forced to borrow Ned 's PE t-shirt. He hadn't even looked at it properly, hurrying to get it on and get to class.  
Only now did he notice the enormous Captain America shield that covered the entire front of his chest.

"You should know better than to sully my workspace with such a stupid shirt," the man sighed before turning and grabbing an old t-shirt. "this one is a much better choice, now go get changed."

The shirt came flying at Peter's head and his hand flew up to catch on instinct alone.

He hurried out of the room, only stopping to take a look at the shirt once he was safely out of his mentor's eyesight.

The shirt was grey and a little baggy on Peter's lithe frame. What caught his eye, however, was the stylized steam iron on the front. Underneath it simply read MAN. Peter cocked his head in confusion until he suddenly realised exactly what it meant and he laughed out loud.

"Peeeeeeter!" Tony's voice rang out across the hallway and Peter jumped, scurrying back over to the lab.

Tony smiled approvingly at the boy's shirt before handing him a wrench and pointing at a specific bolt in his suit.  
"Go for it, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a follow up part tomorrow!


	4. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets into trouble and it's Tony to the rescue.

In a dark New York alleyway, a fierce battle is raging. Three men in black sweatshirts, hoods pulled over their faces, had cornered a young woman, unaware that they were being watched.

The slim figure who crouches, hidden, under the roof, waits until the men let their guard down and then he strikes. 

Two of the men have been webbed up before they can blink, but the third manages to duck Peter's web. The boy stifles a curse as a sharp line of pain traces down his side. 

The fun of the battle having ceased, he makes quick work of webbing up the last man. Unfortunately, this costs him another wound, this one blazing a trail of fire across his thigh. 

He calls the police on one of the men's phone and the webs away. 

He's infinitely grateful for two things. One, he's only a few blocks away from home and two, May is working a double shift. 

Karen has obviously noticed his wounds, but he has a running agreement with the AI. She doesn't tell Mr. Stark until Peter has taken care of the wounds. She does , however, project her disapproval in a stony silence. 

Peter gets home quickly enough and grabs his first aid kit. Needles? Check. Sutures? Check. Anaesthetic. Oh no. 

Peter stifles another curse. He had used the last of his (stolen) anaesthetic the last time he had been injured. 

He grabs the first shirt he finds, pulling it on before gritting his teeth and getting started.

He expects it to hurt. He does not expect the burning pain that roars through him like a wave. His vision goes black, but he grits his teeth and continues. 

The pain intensifies until it's far too much for the sensitive boy's body. His eyes roll back in his head and he goes limp, dropping to the ground. 

On his wrist, a watch lights up as it contacts a certain superhero, who drops everything to go fetch his kid.

When Peter comes to, he's definitely in the Med bay. A strong smell of disinfectant permeates the air and the pain in his arm and thigh has numbed to a dull ache.

He opens his eyes. Tony is sitting next to him, looking worried.

As soon as he notices Peter, anger seems to replace worry and he snaps.  
"I thought I told you to get rid of that shirt?!"

Peter blinks in surprise before glancing down at the shirt he's wearing.

It's Ned's Captain America shirt because of course it is. 

He tries to look properly chagrined, but fails completely and before he knows it, both him and Mr. Stark are laughing out loud. It hurts his bruised ribs, but it feels so good to just laugh with his mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a doctor. Shhhhh.


	5. Circles of life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes time for Peter to understand some things.  
> When he does, things look a little brighter again.

Peter had been living with Tony and Pepper for 4 months and it had been one of the hardest times in his life. It had all happened so fast. May had been perfectly healthy and suddenly she was gone. 

And Tony had rescued him once again. Accepted Peter into his home and, Peter liked to think, into his heart as well. 

Tony had patiently dealt with the explosive anger and sullen silence that came with a natural grieving process. In fact, Peter had become the priority.

More then once, and this Peter knows, Tony and Pepper had cancelled date plans when Peter had been having a bad day. And even though they have told him time and time again, he feels a strong guilt.   
Things are better now. The grief is there, but it's just a dull ache, a little reminder of what he's lost. He can laugh freely now, and sometimes he can even forget it all for a few seconds of pure joy.

Peter arrives home from school and heads into the living room to get a snack. 

Tonight is date night for Tony and Pepper and he knows it. He knows that they've been looking forward to it and he's glad that he has no reason to ruin it for them. He decides to pop in to say a quick hello to Pepper, so he heads to the room his adoptive parents share.

He knocks and enters, hovering in the doorway.

Pepper looks amazing. A simple blue dress make her eyes glow like jewels in the soft light and she moves with absolute grace. 

Something is missing, however, and the boy feels a lump in his throat, sharp and stinging, as he realises what it is.

"Pep? Can I...do your hair?" he asks, pushing down the lump that tries to escape. 

She looks him over and he knows that she's noticed the tears brimming in his eyes and the heat burning his cheeks, but she doesn't comment, simply grabs a brush and hands it to Peter. 

"Go right ahead, kiddo."

Peter has been doing hair since he can remember. He might have been 6 when he asked to help Aunt May with getting ready for a date with Ben. She had guided his confused hands through the process for the first and last time.

He was very good at it. Under his calm fingers, even the most knotted hair became a smooth, elegant hairdo.   
He had done May's hair weekly for 7 long years. And after Ben died, he would do May's hair just because. But never the braided updo he had done for date nights with Ben. In fact, he hasn't done that specific style in years.

But now, combing his fingers through his new mom's hair, he knows just what he's going to do. It feels right, like a circle completing. 

And if he has to swallow another lump at how much Pepper looks like May with her hair like that, well, it's a small price to pay for how happy they all are. And Peter knows. The pain will always be there. But he can live with it. He can love again without forgetting those gone before. He deserves to be happy and he deserves to be loved. It has simply taken some time to figure that all out.


	6. Sweaters and Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no need to worry, until there is.

There's no reason to worry.

That's the underlying message of the email Pepper forwards Peter.

It gives very little detail. It simply states that the Avengers are needed for an emergency mission of high sensitivity. For that reason, they have gone entirely underground. No contact will be allowed. The mission should not take more than 10 days.

For Peter, the first 10 days pass in relative peace. He's obviously worried, but he keeps busy with school and other projects. 

Except that day 10 comes and goes, and now there is radio silence not only from the team itself, but also from SHIELD.

Peter knows that Pepper hasn't heard anything, she would have told him. 

On day 14, someone knocks on the door of Peter's apartment. May opens to find an exhausted Pepper, circles under her eyes as dark as bruises. And so they go with her, staying at the tower, united in their worry. 

On day 16 (although the clock shows nearly day 17), Peter shoots up in bed, gasping for breath, mind clouded with terror. Tears sting his eyes and nothing in his room will bring him comfort.  
Without thinking, he rushes down the hall to the bedroom Tony and Pepper usually share. 

Pepper is asleep, but he has enough control to not wake her. He stumbles into the bed and buries himself into the pillow that smells just like Tony.

And on day 17, he doesn't even try to fall asleep in his own bed. He follows Pepper to bed shyly, blushing when she notices him. She gives him a soft smile, though, and simply hands him an oversized SI sweatshirt that must have belonged to Tony. And Peter finally manages to sleep the night, cocooned in his mentor's soothing smell.

And when an exhausted Tony stumbles into his bedroom in the early hours of day 20, he finds his fiancee and his almost-son curled up in his bed, both wearing his sweatshirts. 

He's too tired to consider the reason, he simply crawls into bed and fights back a tired smile when a small Spider-child presses closer to him unconsciously. 

There's nothing better than this after a hard mission. His family all together, just like they should be.


	7. Sleepless Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep proves to be an elusive beast for a boy who has seen too much.

After spending 5 long hours trying to sleep, Peter has resigned himself to yet another night of little to no sleep.

Dying in space will do that to you, something that he knows far too well. 

More often than not, he'll be ripped from peaceful sleep, a scream on his lips as he struggles to persuade himself that he's solid, that his limbs aren't falling apart into dust. 

Sometimes he'll manage to fall asleep again, grateful for a few hours of shallow, restless sleep, but that proves impossible most of the time.

And because in moments like these, he finds his room extremely claustrophobic. It only serves to heighten his panic, pushing his heartrate even higher.

And so he escapes to the roof, grateful for the fire escape right outside his window that allows him to climb the last few feet safely. 

He had always loved the stars, and by extension hated the light pollution that had cloaked his beloved New York in choking orange-pink light. Now, though, he's thankful that the stars are hidden. 

He still loves the idea of stars, of world's infinitely far away, but the sight of them fills him with panic. One of those dots of light has seen Peter Parker choke on the dust of his own body, and as long as he can see it he just can't forget.

He stays on the roof until the light changes, until the first rays of sun warm his face. He doesn't look up, he doesn't look down. He just sits, waiting for the exhaustion to numb his senses, waiting until he is allowed to simply stop feeling.

At the beginning, he longed for someone to help him, for someone to shield him from the horrors that play across his eyelids as soon as he closes his eyes.

He's stopped hoping now, months of sleepless nights teaching him that hope is a fickle thing. 

And yet when he's at his weakest, he can't help but cry out silently for help, his spirit aching for a soothing touch yet knowing that no one will come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will fix this in the next chapter, I have it all planned out.


	8. Hope In The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After many sleepless nights, hope comes for Peter at last.

A series of graphs, tables and statistics appeared on the holo screen in front of Tony. He frowned at them, noting the particularly low numbers where they should be much higher and high numbers where they should be much lower. 

He had first gotten wind of the sorry state of Peter's health when Karen had automatically alerted him that the boy's heart rate had been spiking into unhealthy levels more than twenty times a day. As a result, the AI had activated a protocol that tracked all of his vitals.

Overall, the results were miserable. Peter had been sleeping no more than 3 hours a night, and what little sleep he got was restless and often interrupted by what appeared to be nightmares. He had spikes in his heart rate during the day as well.

It was more than enough to concern Tony. Noticing that the boy seemed to be awake almost every night, he decided that he would go talk to him tonight. He had his suspicions as to what was the cause of these sleepless nights, but it would be better if the boy confirmed it himself. 

Tony set an alarm and it pinged off right around 2:30 AM, telling him that Peter was awake once more. The superhero chose the suit that was the quietest, not wanting to disturb the sleeping city.

He still chose to land on the farthest corner of the roof, but his concern grew as the boy sitting on the corner of the roof did not stir. He approached silently, leaving the suit behind.

"Another sleepless night?"

The boy twitched with surprise, sputtering for a second.

"Mr. Stark? What?"

"That's my name kid, don't wear it out."  
Tony instantly regretted his words as Peter twitched at the harsh tone, averting his eyes.

Tony couldn't stop himself. He went closer, sitting next to the boy.

"Can you tell what's going on, Pete? I know you haven't been sleeping much."

"It's not important," the boy said, voice shaking the slightest bit, "I'm fine."

"I know you're fine, kid. But are you okay?"

Tony hoped Peter realised what this was. A chance to find help, to find support. By the shaky look the boy was giving him, he may have.

"I...I don't know, Mr. Stark. I'm..."all in a rush "I'm so tired. I don't know when I last got a good nights sleep. "

Tony knew this, of course, but the kid's tone was breaking his heart. 

"Oh, kiddo..."

"Every night, I dream of Titan. Of falling apart. Of the look in your eyes as you let me fall back. It's just too much. I don't know if I can keep doing this."

The kid started to cry, soft sobs leaking through clenched lips.

Tony makes a split second decision, feeling far too vulnerable on the open roof. He wants to wrap the kid in blankets and keep him safe and warm.

"Hey, you're okay kiddo. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna leave a message for your aunt and we're gonna take this upstate. We'll figure it out, I promise you that."

You are not alone in this fight. The unspoken words rang through the air louder than anything Tony could have said and by the way Peter slumped against him, they were heard loud and clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when these were supposed to be short? Because I don't.


	9. All The Time In The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is dealing with the aftermath of losing someone. But is he really dealing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just saw FFH. I am broken. Destroyed. Sad and happy and so many things.   
> Overall, I'm not coping.  
> Go watch it. It's a rollercoaster.

Something was very wrong.   
That much was clear.  
Because it was 6AM. On a weekend.   
And the voicemail inbox of one Happy Hogan, head of security, was empty.  
Now, usually, Happy would be glad. But the absence of a voicemail from a certain Spider-kid, detailing his nightly activities was suspicious to say the least. 

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Mr. Hogan."

"Can you do a search for all news related to Spider-man in the past 24 hours?"

"Just a minute, please."

Happy turned around, examining the skyline of the city with a careful eye.

"The results, Mr. Hogan."

Happy spun around and froze as an enormous headline caught his eye.

Two teens die in apartment building fire

Happy scans the article quickly and his heart drops. Peter had been there. He had been helping rescue people from the fire.

"Hey, boss? We might have a problem."  
\--------------  
Tony hurried along the hallway to the Parker apartment, heart pounding in his chest. 

He was terrified of how Peter was reacting to this. The boy had been lucky so far. He hadn't dealt with losing someone since he had taken on the mantle of Spider-man. And with the kid's guilt complex...

Tony burst through the door of Peter's room, heart in his throat.

He had been prepared for many things. Screaming. Anger. Destruction. But nothing could have prepared him for what was waiting behind that door.

Peter was sitting on the edge of his bed, head down, shoulders hunched. Tge whole side of his face was bloodied. His hands were scraped and his nails were worn down to the skin.

And between these bruised and battered hands , Peter was clutching his mask. It was barely recognizable, soot covered and burnt.

But the worst part by far were Peter's eyes. They were red rimmed and were full of deep, heartwrenching pain. Tony's heart shattered at that look.

Usually, Tony would start talking right away. But some instinct told him it would be unwise. 

He simply sat down and waited for the boy to start talking. He would, eventually. But for now, they had all the time in the world.


	10. Best Of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is guilting himself over an accident, so Tony intervenes.

"I tried so hard, Mr. Stark," the boy's voice is roughened with smoke and tears, "I went into that building again and again."

Peter barely manages to stifle the sob that threatens to tear him apart.

"I was so happy that I had gotten everyone out. It wasn't until the evening that I learned..."

Peter sprang up so suddenly that Tony twitched with shock.

"Damnit, they were like me! They were 16 years old! They had their whole lives in front of them! And I FAILED THEM."

Peter's shout is bitter and dark.

He shakes himself a tiny bit, as if waking from a dream and shoots his mentor a guilty look. 

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled," he rubs his red-rimmed eyes, " I messed up so bad."

And Tony, Tony who has solved math problems that had taken others years, Tony, who had built a suit like no one had ever seen in a cave in the desert, Tony didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to ease the burden that was resting on the back of this kid. That left only instinct to be trusted. So he did.

"Do you know how many people I've lost, over the years?" Tony asks, gentle.

At the boy's mute shake of his head, Tony continues.

"I do. I know how many. I read each and every name. I know who they were and I know that they died for me."

He lets the words sink in.

"But Pete, do you know how I survive it? I survive it because I know that for each and every name, there are 20 or 30 more who I saved. It's them that make it worth it."

Tony opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them, to see the boy watching him, tears rolling silently down his face.

"Thank you Mr. Stark"

"Alright, enough moping for now. I think a movie, some ice cream and a blanket fort seem to be what we need right now."

This brought a shy smile to the kid's face.

As a warm swoop of affection ran through Tony, he couldn't help but whisper to the boy beside him.

"No matter what, you'll always be the best of us."


End file.
